Loose Ends
by NikolitaNiko
Summary: AU. Kate is in an unhealthy relationship and reaches out to Rick one night. Trigger warning for discussion of domestic violence. Possible OOC-ness for Beckett. **Please note this is no longer a series of oneshots, but a standalone fic.**
1. Lifeline

**This story is going to be a series of random oneshots, about anything and everything related to Castle – basically a place to post all the Castle plot bunnies I have roaming around my head. I'm going to try to keep most of it Caskett-focused, but I might slip off into tangents every now and then. **

**Disclaimer: I do not claim to own Castle or anything from it. That honour belongs to Andrew Marlowe. **

**Anything in italics are personal thoughts. Any errors in this fic are mine, as this has not been beta'd. If you're going to leave constructive criticism, please be gentle is all I ask. Sorry for the lack of story breaks, this site doesn't ever seem to allow mine.**

15 more minutes. Kate felt a cold sweat break out on the back of her neck, and she fidgeted with a paperclip as she watched the precinct clock. 15 more minutes until it was time for her to pack up her things and go home. 15 more minutes until she had to bid Ryan and Esposito good night and walk out the door and leave-

"Beckett."

14 more minutes. Maybe she could stay late tonight. Josh wouldn't mind. It wasn't unusual for her to have to stay late to work on a difficult case.

_Yes he would. He would definitely mind._

"Beckett!" Came the voice again, snapping Kate out of her thoughts.

"Sorry, I-I just zoned out." She focused her eyes on the figure in front of her, and she was relieved to see that it was Castle. _Not Josh. _She beamed him a forced smile, hoping he wouldn't read too much into her odd behaviour.

"I brought you coffee," he said, still looking slightly concerned. So much for that theory.

Kate grasped the mug in both hands and took a hurried sip, wincing as she burned her tongue. "Thank you, Castle." Kate hoped the hot drink would help melt the cold knot of anxiety inside her chest; it was making it difficult for her to concentrate enough to finish her paperwork as it was now.

Castle sat down in his chair next to her desk, a cup of coffee in his hands too. "You looked like you needed a boost. This case must really be taking a toll on you."

_If he only knew._ "It is," she said cautiously as she rifled through the papers on her desk. "Sometimes I have a hard time leaving my work at the precinct. This one is... sticking with me more than our regular cases do."

"Because the victim reminds you of your mother?" Castle theorized.

_Not even close._ "A little bit."

Castle nodded, unsure of what to say next, and Kate kept her eyes on her paperwork. She wasn't about to give Castle more fodder for his theories. Polaroids of the victim were stacked on a corner of her desk; Kate had kept them as far away from her as possible so she didn't have to look at the dark marks mottling the victim's skin, or the rope burns around her neck. Kate had her suspicions about what had happened to their victim, but she lacked the evidence to back them up. Moreover, however, she was... hesitant. There were parallels between their victim and Kate's own personal life, and the pictures sitting on her desk were an undeniable reminder of what could happen when everything went sour.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Castle asked.

"I'm good."

_You should tell him_, said the little voice in the back of her head. _ Tell him the truth._ Kate shook her head slightly, mentally crushing the voice under an avalanche of denial.

"Everything ok? You look like something's bothering you."

Kate shot a quick glance at the clock. A little more than 5 minutes and her shift would be over.

"I'm alright," she lied through her teeth, not looking in his direction. She knew if she saw the concern in his eyes, she would have trouble keeping her walls up. And her walls needed to stay up. Castle couldn't know.

"Are you sure?"

Kate's patience snapped. "Castle, I _told_ you that I'm fine!" She slammed her pen down on her desk as she glared at him. "Everything is ok! Look, I really need to finish this paperwork before I leave, so do you think you could please stop chattering for just a few minutes so I can get it done without you distracting me?"

All across the bullpen, heads swivelled to stare at Kate. It wasn't often she lost her temper with anyone in the precinct, especially one of her partners. Kate ignored them all, mentally willing them to mind their own business and go back to their work.

Hurt flooded Castle's eyes. "Yeah, yeah I can do that." He pushed himself up out of his chair and walked towards to the break room. Out of the corner of her eye, Kate could see Esposito and Ryan following him over to the coffee machine. Great, now the three of them would be discussing what was making her stressed and why she had freaked out on Castle.

With her head in her hands, Kate fought to keep her frustration under control. She just had one more form to fill out and then she could go. She stole one last quick glance at the clock on the wall to confirm it-

_Shit._

She was out of time. She had to leave home now in order to make it through rush hour traffic and get home by the time assigned to her. She knew there would be consequences if she was late; her sore writing hand and the bruises on her lower arms were proof of that. She'd caught Castle looking at the marks on her skin earlier and she'd tried to tug her sleeves down inconspicuously, but knowing Castle and his keen observation skills, she figured he suspected something was going on. That wasn't going to stop her from still trying to hide it though. Because really, there was nothing wrong. She was in a good relationship, she was happy with Josh-

_You're not happy._

Knowing what the rest of her evening would look like if she dallied much longer, Kate frantically worked through the last remaining form before slapping it into the outbox tray on her desk. She switched her computer off and slid her jacket on quickly. If she was lucky, traffic would be lighter than usual and she'd make it home on time.

"Good night boys!" She called towards the break room, lumping Castle in with her two partners. She didn't have time to make it personal. She needed to get to her car and _go_.

Kate was just about at the elevator when her phone chirped. The monotonous tone told her she had a text message waiting for her. She pulled the phone from her pocket as she jabbed the down button for the elevator, cursing its sluggishness. Pressing the menu button, she was surprised to see the message on her screen.

"_I'm sorry for upsetting you. Call me later if you need anything. Anything at all. – Castle"_

A ghost of a smile flickered across Kate's lips as the elevator finally arrived and she stepped inside the aging doors. She appreciated her partner's offer, but she knew she wouldn't take him up on it. If she had her way, Castle would never know what her life at home was like right now. Josh was a big man, a strong man, and she didn't want Castle to get involved. He had his own life to worry about, a mother and daughter who needed him in one piece. Kate could take care of herself. She could.

Kate checked her watch as she reached her car in the below ground parking lot. She was a few minutes behind, but if she sped a little on the way home, she'd be able to make it in time. Moments later she was in her car and leaving the parking garage, but her stomach dropped when she saw how congested the traffic was. It was bumper to bumper for blocks in front of her; there must have been an accident of some sort nearby.

It was going to be a long ride home.

The moon was high in the night sky when his phone rang on his nightstand. Castle jolted awake and threw his arm out, trying to find his phone before he was completely awake. His fingers closed clumsily around it as he brought it to his ear.

"-Lo?"

"Hello?" Said a voice.

"Who is this?" Rick rubbed his face with one hand, trying to will himself awake. A quick glance at his alarm clock told him it was nearly two in the morning. Who could be calling at this time of night?

"Is this Mr. Richard Castle?"

"Yes it is. May I ask who this is and why you're calling at this ungodly hour?" He said, letting some annoyance creep into his voice. He'd been sleeping deeply and was loathe to be up at this hour of the night without a legitimate reason.

"This is the New York Women's Transition House."

Rick blinked, his mind unwilling to process what he'd just heard. "Pardon me?"

"This is the New York Women's Transition House," the voice repeated. "We have a woman here by the name of Katherine Beckett. She gave us your phone number and asked us to call you."

"Kate?" Rick breathed as panic crept into his voice. "Is she alright? What's wrong?"

"Mr. Castle, Ms. Beckett is wondering if you can come pick her up. She is unable to return home, but says she needs a place to stay."

Rick was curious why Beckett wasn't choosing to stay with her father or Lanie, but he wasn't about to second guess Kate's need for safety. "O-of course. I can be there right away. Right away. Just give me a minute to throw some clothes on and I'll drive right over-"

"Mr. Castle," the voice interrupted. "We cannot give you our address, as this is a safe house for women. But we can give you an address of a nearby location, and we will meet you there with Kate."

"I, I understand," Rick stammered. The shock of hearing that Kate was in a women's safe house hadn't quite worn off yet. "Where would be an acceptable place to meet?"

The voice on the other end of the line rattled off an address, and Rick quickly scrawled it onto the notepad he kept by his bed. With a quick promise to be there as soon as he could, Rick hung up his phone. Fear made his movements jerky and rushed as he put on an outfit he grabbed randomly from his closet. It didn't matter how he was dressed, just that he got to Kate as quickly as possible.

Shoving his note in his back pocket, Rick hurried from his apartment and locked the door quietly behind him. He didn't bother to leave a note – if his family woke up while he was gone, he would simply explain his absence when he got home. Kate needed him right now. That was more important than anything else.

Knowing he'd wreck his car if he tried to drive over to the rendezvous point himself, Rick hailed for a cab outside of his apartment building. As he waited impatiently, he thought about the little signs he'd noticed earlier but had done nothing about. Perhaps if he had tried talking to Kate about the dark smudges under her eyes, her swollen lips or the dark marks on her skin, this whole situation could have been avoided. Guilt ate at his insides at the very thought that he could have somehow prevented the situation his partner was now in.

A taxi pulled over for him - _About damned time! - _and he stepped inside. The address he had been given was at a gas station with an attached restaurant located maybe fifteen minutes away from where he lived.

"Step on it, please," Rick implored, his voice thick with repressed emotion. "There's a bonus for you if you can get me to my destination within the next five minutes."

_It was a good location for a meet-up_, Rick thought to himself as his taxi pulled into the eatery's parking lot. Street lights and a couple of lampposts threw some light over the empty parking spots, but the location provided a certain amount of cover from the main road thanks to the tall hedge bordering the lot. Rick suspected that that was why that particular location had been chosen – good lighting, but still private.

Rick slipped his driver his bonus and asked him to please wait for a few minutes. His driver nodded and turned the ignition off, pulling out a newspaper from under his seat. "No worries sir, take as long as you need."

Turning back to the empty lot, Rick watched from inside the cab, waiting for the other vehicle to show up. He didn't have to wait for very long – the vehicle from the transition house was there within minutes. Rich slid the door open slowly and stepped out, letting the women see that he was alone and that they had nothing to fear. In the back seat of the cat he could see a figure huddled under a blanket, and while he couldn't see the individual's face, he knew it was Kate. His heart skipped a beat at the thought of how much pain she might be in and how scared she must be.

The front door opened and a tall woman dressed in jeans and a sweater got out and approached Rick. He watched her eye him cautiously as she got closer, and he tried to smile, hoping to ease her fears. "I swear to you I'm not armed or anything, ma'am. I'm just here to pick up Kate."

She nodded and finally held out her hand for him to shake. "My name is Tracey, Mr. Castle. Kate told us we could trust you, but I still wanted to be sure." She looked back at the car they'd arrived in. "We normally don't do this, but given that Ms. Beckett is a city police officer and she gave us her word, we're going to trust you to take care of her."

Rick nodded. "I was planning on taking Kate home with me. I figured she could stay with me for the night, and in the morning we could discuss what she would like to do next. Call her family, her friends, her boss, that sort of thing." He paused, clearly unsure of how to ask the question he so desperately wanted to ask.

Tracey gave him a half-smile, understanding without the words being spoken. "I will let Kate explain the details to you, but basically there was a domestic violence incident in her home. Her attacker left the home and she immediately called us. We met her near her home and brought her back to the transition house."

"When-"

"My understanding is that it happened shortly after she returned home from work. She wouldn't give us the details on what set him off, just that it happened and then he left."

Rick was having a hard time focusing on what he was being told. "Does-does she need medical attention?"

Tracey shook her head. "Melanie – the other woman in the car with Kate – and I treated her cuts and scrapes, but she doesn't appear to have any broken bones. However, if you could convince her to seek medical attention, it would probably be in her best interests to have a doctor look at her injuries. A referral to some professional psychological treatment would be a good idea as well."

Rick nodded. "Done. Anything Kate needs, she'll get."

Tracey gave Rick a faint smile. "Thank you, Mr. Castle."

"Please, call me Rick."

"Alright. Rick if you can just wait over here for a minute, I'll go speak to Kate and make sure she's still ok to go home with you."

Rick's heart ached at the very idea of Kate no longer being comfortable in his presence, but he knew he couldn't fault her for that. "I understand."

"Thank you." Tracey walked back over to the car and opened the back door. Rick watched her speak to Kate, saw his partner nod and gather a bag off the floor. Melanie turned around in the front seat to speak to Kate briefly, and Tracey replied with something Rick wasn't quite able to hear. Then Tracey stepped back from the backdoor and Rick's eyes followed Kate as she climbed out slowly.

His first instinct was to run to her and hold her close, but he knew he had to let her come to him. He kept his gaze focused on Kate, though his peripheral vision told him that Tracey and Melanie were watching them both, ready to step in at a moment's notice if needed.

Kate was still wearing the outfit she'd worn at work when Rick had last seen her. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, but Rick could see that some pieces had been pulled out and were hanging loose around her face. From where he was standing he thought he could see smudges of blood on her face, but as she got closer he could see that they were actually bruises. _She must have been hit hard if they were becoming visible already_. She had wrapped the thin blanket around her shoulders, and it hung down around her body like a shawl.

Kate kept her eyes on the ground, looking up at Rick only when she was a few feet away. She had a bag hanging on one wrist and she clutched the ends of the blanket to her chest. Rick had never seen a more pitiful sight; the knowledge that this was Kate, his _partner_, broke his heart.

"Hey," he whispered.

Kate said nothing, merely nodded and pulled the blanket tighter around her shoulders. He saw her shaking slightly, but knew better than to comment.

"Are you ready to go?"

She nodded again, and Rick stepped back to let her get into the taxicab. When she didn't move, however, he approached her carefully.

"Kate? Are you alright?" He cursed himself the moment his question left his lips. Of course she wasn't alright.

Kate bowed her head, and Rick knew she was trying so hard not to break in front of him. That was his Kate; always the warrior, always the strong one.

Slowly, gently, Rick reached out to touch Kate's shoulder. The moment his fingers grazed the blanket, a whimper broke loose and she tried to stifle it with the back of one hand. She unconsciously took a step towards Rick, and that was the only prompt he needed. Wordlessly he pressed her close in a warm and gentle embrace, wrapping his arms and his presence around her. Kate tucked her face against his chest, her lips pressed tightly together to prevent her cries from escaping.

_I'm here for you, Kate. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry._

They stood together in the parking lot for a few minutes more before Kate finally broke the hug. She tried to give Rick a smile, and he returned it to her. "Thank you... Castle," she whispered.

Rick wanted so badly to touch her, caress her face, do something to reassure her that things were going to get better, but he didn't want to scare her while she was in this state."Anytime. Come on Kate, let's go home."

Kate nodded and got into the cab, with Rick climbing in behind her. He closed the sliding door behind him, and the cab drove off into the night.

**A/N: This first chapter was inspired by another fic I read where Demming was Kate's abusive boyfriend (and more). It is not intended to be a copycat, rather just a standalone oneshot. I might continue it in the future, I haven't decided yet.**

**Re: the transition house, some of the protocol is based on personal knowledge, but I'm aware that some of it might not be accurate. If that's the case, please humour me – this is fanfiction, creative liberties are allowed. **


	2. Life Raft

**Disclaimer: Castle in its entirety belongs to Andrew Marlowe. I do not claim to own any of the characters or anything else from the show.**

**A/N: This is a continuation from the last chapter. I have tried to clarify more of Kate's character and why she stayed in her relationship with Josh for as long as she did. Hopefully this will help, but if not, I apologize for any OOC-ness (for both her and Castle) in advance. **

**Also, it's pretty obvious, but this is an AU fic. Thoughts are in italics like last time. Any errors are mine, as this is again un-beta'd.**

****Trigger warning for discussion of domestic abuse. It doesn't get overly detailed, but I want to be careful. Please read at your own discretion.****

* * *

><p>The ride back to Rick's apartment was a long one. He wanted so badly to ask her if there was anything he could do for her, anything he could do to help. But he also remembered her angry words to him from earlier in the day, and so Rick very reluctantly opted to keep his mouth closed. He settled instead for watching Kate out of the corner of his eye. Every so often he saw her swipe at her cheeks, and each time his heart clenched a little more. She didn't deserve to be in this kind of pain. No one did. There was no excuse for what had been done to her.<p>

At last the taxi arrived at Rick's apartment. Kate pulled the sliding door open and stepped out onto the sidewalk, while Rick thanked the driver quietly and slipped him another small bonus before climbing out after her. The driver wished him a good night, and Rick nodded before shutting the door and turning around to face Kate – except she wasn't there. She'd already made her way over to the front stairs and was attempting to navigate up them, but Rick could see for the first time that she was having some difficulty. He rushed over and reached her side just as her left ankle turned over and gave way. She cried out and fell into his side, and Rick threw his arms around her to help keep her upright.

"Dammit," she bit out between clenched teeth.

"Hold on, let me help you get up the stairs," Rick started, but Kate cut him off.

"Castle I'm fine! I can climb a set of stairs by myself," she snapped.

Rick ignored her. "Is your ankle sprained?"

Kate grabbed onto the handrail and pulled herself away from Rick without answering, and he let his arms fall away. He could see how much her injuries were bothering her, but he was also starting to see how wounded her pride was as well. He realized Kate Beckett probably didn't ask for help very often, so that when she absolutely had to, she resented it. Rick said nothing as she put her injured foot down on the next step, and then the next, merely walking beside her as she made her way slowly up the front steps, ready to catch her if needed. He was grateful that this set of steps was not very large; he didn't want to see her make her injuries worse than they already were. The sooner they got inside, the sooner he could get her to lie down and rest.

They reached the front doors, and the doorman rushed forward to let them inside when he saw Kate limping. Rick gave the man a small smile as they passed through before walking ahead to push the button for the elevator.

"I could've gotten it, Castle."

Rick turned around and gave her a look that said everything and nothing all at once. "Kate, you're injured. Enough's enough. I'm not going to watch you hurt yourself more because you refuse to accept any offer of assistance from me that extends past a cab ride."

"I'm _not_ hurting myself-" Kate started to argue in a heated tone.

"Keep your voice down," Rick hissed. "It's the middle of the night."

"I'm well aware of that," Kate shot back. She knew how late it had been when she had asked for the safe house to call Rick. She knew how much she was imposing on him, and it killed her; she hated being a burden to anyone.

The elevator dinged its arrival, and both the cop and the writer stepped on in silence. Kate shifted her weight to her good foot and leaned back against the wall as Rick pressed the button for his floor. The doors shut gently and up they went.

"I'm sorry," Rick said quietly a few moments later. Kate didn't look at him and continued to stare at the floor. "It just... bothers me to see you in pain. You're my partner, and when I see you like this my first instinct is to try to help you. Make things easier for you. But all I seem to do is step on your toes."

The elevator stopped and its doors opened before Kate could think of a logical reply. Her ankle and other injuries were starting to really burn and the pain was distracting her. She limped out of the elevator, and this time when Rick stepped forward to support her under one arm, she let him. Together they made their way slowly down the hall to his apartment.

"Is your family home?" Kate asked quietly as he slipped his key into the lock.

Rick turned to look at her. "They are," he said slowly. "Why do you ask?"

"Will... will they mind me being here?" Doubt edged with a touch of fear made her pause.

"I haven't told them anything, but I figured we'd deal with that in the morning. My main concern was getting you here safely. Regardless, it's my apartment – I don't particularly care if they mind or not."

Kate gave him a look that made him re-examine his words. "What I meant is that you come first, Kate. If they have any concerns with you being here, I will talk to them about it. But I'm sure that that point is moot because they're not going to mind, they like you being here and you're always welcome at our apartment..." He sighed and hung his head. "I'm just sticking my foot in my mouth, aren't I?"

_He said I come first. _Kate smiled for the first time that night. "You are rambling a little, yes, but it's alright." She winced as a jolt of pain shot up her injured foot. "Can we go inside though?"

"Oh yes, of course." He turned the key in the lock and swung the front door open carefully. Kate hobbled inside and Rick followed in close behind her, flicking on a light for the living room and another for the kitchen.

"Did you want to get cleaned up first?" He asked her quietly as he slipped his shoes off. "Or did you want something to eat? I don't know what happened at the transition house, so I am not sure what to offer you first."

Kate sat on the arm of his couch and faced him. "Honestly Castle, I'd be happy with just a bed. I want to go to sleep, put this behind me and deal with it in the morning when I've had a full night's rest."

Rick watched her silently for a moment, mulling over how to say what he wanted to say but unsure of how to say it. At great length, he said, "You can have my bedroom down here, and I'll sleep in the guest room upstairs."

"I can't take your bed from you Castle-"

"You can and you will. Please don't argue with me about this," Rick said firmly. "Down here you're away from stairs, and it's a short walk to the bathroom and the kitchen. Everything you need is relatively close, which is important because of your ankle there. What would happen if you were to fall in the middle of the night?"

"Castle..."

"Please, Kate," Rick pleaded, his patience finally starting to fray. "I told Tracey and Melanie that I would keep you safe and look after you here, and I fully intend to keep my word. It's just for one night. After tonight you can go stay with your father or Lanie even if you'd like-"

"No."

Rick stopped and gave her an odd look, but let it go. Neither one of them said anything for several minutes as Castle busied himself with putting away his jacket and shoes, while Kate feigned interest in the interior of his apartment.

Rick finally broke the tension. "Well if you want to just head right to bed then, the bedroom is through the study on your left there. Make a right when you hit my desk and you can't miss it. I'll be in there in a moment, I'm just going to get you a glass of water from the kitchen."

"Ok. Thank you, Castle." Kate limped through the open doorway and Rick watched her go. When he could no longer see her, he pulled a mug out from one of the kitchen cupboards and filled it from the tap. Following Kate's path, he could see she'd indeed found the bedroom without any trouble.

"Pretty impressive eh?"

Kate turned around on the bed and smiled at him. "This is incredible, Castle. I only wish my bedroom looked this..."

"Amazing? Awesome?"

"Classy. This looks like a bedroom befitting for some kind of celebutant – which I guess you are." Rick chuckled, remembering when she had first used that term with him. She looked around the room again, amazed at what she saw. "The pictures on the wall, your linens, the sitting chairs in the corner – everything goes together so well. You have quite the sense of style."

"You should really thank my interior designer, but regardless, thank you Madam Katherine," Rick teased with a mock bow as he walked over and set the glass down on the nightstand before stepping back. "So, umm... I'm not sure how to ask this-"

"A change of clothes would be wonderful, if you don't mind," Kate interjected, and Rick looked surprised. "That's what you were going to ask me, right?"

"Uhh, yeah I was. How did you know?" Rick asked as he walked over to his dresser and started rifling through one of the drawers.

"You looked like you would rather eat snails than ask me what you were about to ask, so I figured it had to be something awkward."

"I guess you just know me too well, Detective." He spun around, holding a pair of black boxers with coloured poker chips on them. "These ok for the night?" He asked as he walked over to his closet with the boxers still held in his outstretched hand.

"Yes, they're fine. Thanks again Castle."

He looked back over his shoulder at her. "We're not at the precinct anymore, so you _can_ call me Rick, you know. By the way, is this t-shirt alright? I'm assuming you wear a t-shirt when you sleep at night-"

"Yeah I do," Kate said quickly without really looking at it. She wanted to bypass that conversation completely. This was not the time or the place to be having that sort of discussion, nor was he the right person to be having it with. He was her partner, not her boyfriend.

Rick seemed to realize it too. "Alright then." He placed both the boxers and the t-shirt on his bed, and stepped back hesitantly. "I will, uh, just leave you to get changed then. I'll be outside in the living room, so just call for me if you need anything. The bathroom's just off to the left there as you can see, and there's a spare toothbrush and tube of toothpaste under the sink if you want to use them."

Kate pretended to be fascinated by the design on his comforter. "Ok. Will do. Thank you."

Rick looked at her for a few more moments, then sighed and left his bedroom. Kate heard him walk back out to the living room and turn the TV. The dull hum provided a welcome distraction as Kate hauled herself to her feet to begin getting changed for bed.

It was a good while before Rick realized that he couldn't hear any sounds coming from his bedroom anymore. There was no shuffling of feet, no running of water. Oh god, what if she'd fallen and hit her head on the edge of the sink? Or her ankle had given out again? He should've been paying more attention-

He raced into the bedroom, stopping on a dime when he saw Kate curled into a ball on the bathroom floor. He only dimly recognized that she'd managed to get changed into his boxers and shirt before she'd collapsed on the floor.

"Kate? Kate, are you alright? Kate!" Rick asked frantically, getting down on his knees beside her. From where he'd been standing he'd thought she was unconscious, until he heard her quiet sniffling. Relief exploded in his chest as he realized she was still awake, just extremely upset and overwhelmed. Up close, he could see how her tears had left faint streaks on her cheeks. He jostled her shoulder, searching for a reaction to his presence. "Kate, talk to me! What's wrong?"

Kate tried to tilt her face away from him, and a strangled cry escaped from between her lips. She couldn't speak even if she wanted to; the lump in her throat made it impossible to talk. All she could do was lie helplessly on the bathroom floor crying as Rick ran a shaky hand up and down her back in a soothing motion.

It was much later when she finally spoke. Rick missed her whispered words and had to ask her to repeat them.

"_I hurt."_

"What can I do to make it better? What can I do to help?" Rick asked, moving his hand to gently brush her hair back away from her face.

"I don't know."

Rick took this opportunity to look at Kate, really look at her. Now that she was out of her uniform and wearing Rick's night clothes, he could see more of her lithe form. _How sad that it's under these circumstances and not a happier occasion_, the voice inside his head mused. His boxers revealed a swollen ankle which looked rather painful, and bruises on her calves and thighs; his shirt revealed additional marks and bruises on her forearms, and Rick could see how visible the marks on her face now were. He was definitely going to have to talk to her about seeing a doctor in the morning, for her ankle if nothing else. He could provide temporary relief for the night, but it would need some serious attention soon.

"Why did you stay with him?" Rick asked her quietly.

Kate laughed, a short bark which echoed in the silence of the bathroom. "If only it was so easy to explain," she said in a low voice.

"Then help me to understand," he murmured. "You're a cop, you know about domestic violence. Why would you stay in a relationship that you knew wasn't safe?"

Kate was silent for another few minutes, and Rick started to regret opening his mouth. Maybe he'd pushed her too far. Maybe it really was none of his business. He was just her partner after all.

"It wasn't any one factor," Kate said slowly, softly. "It just...happened. One thing led to another and it spun out of control."

"I see."

"And of course I knew about domestic violence, knew what to avoid. But he wasn't like this in the beginning." She took a deep breath.

"Why didn't you tell me?" The words slipped out before Rick realized it. _Damn. You shouldn't have asked you moron-_

"I didn't want you to know." Kate's reply surprised Rick, even though he knew he probably shouldn't be. This was Kate Beckett they were talking about. She didn't let anyone know what was going on in certain parts of her life unless it was absolutely necessary. Even after shadowing her for the last few years, she was still a mystery he was still trying to solve.

"Even though you knew I knew?" Rick stroked the top of her head ever so gently, and Kate's eyes fluttered shut. If she didn't have to look at him when she answered his questions and bared her soul, maybe it would help make these topics easier to talk about.

"Denial's a bitch." Kate smirked sadly. "And I didn't want to involve you."

"Why not?" Emotion trickled into Rick's questions, despite his best efforts to hide it. The last thing Kate needed to know right now was how deep his feelings for her ran, and how badly shaken he was by seeing the evidence of Josh's touch on her body.

"You have a family. A mother. A daughter. I was afraid of how you might react if you knew the dirty details about my relationship with Josh, and I didn't want you to try to go after him."

"Come on Kate, do you really think I'd try to hurt him?"

"I didn't think you would, but I couldn't promise that Josh wouldn't try to hurt you," Kate countered.

"Oh."

"Yeah." They fell quiet again, each lost in their own thoughts.

"How long has this been going on for?" Rick ventured. "Or do I even want to know?"

Kate paused, unsure of how he'd react when she gave her answer. "Castle, you can't blame yourself."

"The hell I can't. I'm your partner, I should have noticed these things!"

Kate's hand crept up to rest on Rick's arm, and his mouth closed. "Long enough," she said simply, opting for the less painful option. "Longer than it should have ever lasted."

"How? And why? You're Kate Beckett, Wonder Woman in disguise. I would never have thought that you'd be the type to fall into a relationship like this."

Slowly, painfully, Kate pulled herself up off the bathroom floor and propped herself up against the side of the bathtub behind them. She let her head fall back until it thudded dully on the porcelain rim, then closed her eyes. A tear leaked out of one eye, but she made no move to wipe it away.

"Even Wonder Woman has limits, Castle."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. And sometimes she doesn't know how far past them she's soared until they're just a speck in the distance. Until she switches her autopilot off and wakes up to reality."

"You said earlier that one thing led to another."

Kate nodded. "It did. We were so happy when we first got together, Castle."

"You looked happy," was all he said.

"We just fit together so well. He was what I needed in my life."

Rick smiled sadly. He had noticed the happy changes that Josh's presence in her life had brought to her. Everyone had. She started smiling more, giggling even. She had more energy in her stride, more bounce in her step. Rick could tell when she'd spent the night at his place, or vice versa, despite the efforts she put into hiding that little fact. He'd needled her about Dr. Motorcycle Boy now and then, to keep up appearances, but inside his heart was being torn apart. He wanted her to be happy, but he wanted her to be happy _with him. _However she had continued to treat him as her friend, her partner, and so that was how he'd kept their relationship. If Kate was happy, he was happy. He would try to be happy. For her.

Rick caught Kate looking at him funny, and he quickly switched his expression to something he hoped was more neutral. He'd have to be more careful if he didn't want to tip his hand too soon. His feelings weren't what she needed to deal with right now anyways. Pandora's Box had already been cracked open, but he could still try to chain the lid shut as best he could.

A lightbulb went off. "He didn't start with the hitting, did he?" Rick asked.

Kate rolled her head back and forth on the tub's edge, and Rick winced at the sound it made. Scooting himself over next to her, he silently extended an arm towards her in invitation. Kate looked down at the floor as she accepted his offer, tucking herself against his side and resting her head on his broad shoulder as he wrapped his arm around her. His head rested against hers gently as she spoke.

"People think that it starts with the hitting, the beating. A nudge leads to a push, which leads to a shove and then a smack. An open palm becoming a closed fist. But it doesn't always play out like that," she whispered.

Rick reached for her hand with his spare one, meshed their fingers together. He caressed her slender digits with his callused ones, and she sighed against his body. "How did it happen for you?" He asked.

Kate's forehead scrunched up as she tried to recall how it had all started. "He started saying things to me, these short little jabs which were made more to unsettle me than they were to hurt my feelings or anything like that. Then the comments turned to blatant put downs, which progressed to complaints. When I didn't bend to his will, he started being a little firmer with me. He used his voice and his dominating presence to try to intimidate me. And when that didn't work-" Her voice broke and she fell silent.

"That's when he started putting his hands on you," Rick guessed.

"Yes. He'd grab me with a strong hold if he wanted to pull me closer, or pinch me if I said or did something he didn't like. Then I would get angry and he would back off, pretending to be sorry. Later on he'd do it again. And again."

"Why didn't you just leave? He obviously didn't respect you."

"He was... he was someone to come home to," Kate admitted. Somehow hearing herself say the words out loud made them seem more pathetic compared to when they were locked inside her head, but it was too late to take them back. She had never spoken about any of this to anyone before, not even Lanie. But this was Castle, and Kate knew deep in her heart that Castle wouldn't judge her. "He was an asshole sometimes, but he still showed his lo-feelings for me too. Like a pendulum swinging back and forth. Despite the bad times, for the first few months I thought he really did care about me."

Beside her, Rick sucked in a breath. So many things he wanted to tell her, but couldn't. _I wanted to be there for you Kate. I would have welcomed you home every day, with open arms and a kiss. All you had to do was ask._

"Is that why your wrist is sore?" Rick asked her.

"Mmhmm. The other day we were out at the mall and he wanted me to come look at something in a store's window display. Something about a new motorcycle jacket he was interested in buying. When I asked him to wait because I was in the middle of something, he grabbed my wrist – hard – and pulled me over. He did it forcefully enough that I stumbled, and he caught me. All the while he made it look like an accident, so no one would suspect anything. He did it other times too, usually when we were at home, so it hasn't had a chance to heal yet."

"Is that where the bruises on your arms came from too?"

Kate shook her head slowly. "No, those were different. Some are from his hard pinches, but most are from when he grabbed me and sh-shook me." Memories flooded Kate's mind unexpectedly, and she struggled to will them away. _Not now, not again!_ _I don't want to remember!_

"Shhh," Rick soothed, capturing one of her hands between his two large ones. He was overwhelmed with disgust and sadness at hearing what he had done to her, but he knew he couldn't let her see it. She needed her partner, a rock to hold onto in these turbulent waters. "It's alright Kate. I'm here, you're here. You're alright."

Another tear escaped, and then another. "He'd shake me, yell at me and demand that I tell him what was wrong with me. Why I had done what I had done, knowing it was a stupid thing to do but had done it anyways. He told me I was just a cop, another mindless drone navigating the system to scrape out a living. I wasn't as important as he was, wasn't saving lives like he was."

"Kate you know he's wrong about that, right? Well actually he's wrong about everything he said, but you know you're not 'just a cop' right?"

"I don't know what to think anymore."

Rick didn't know what to say to that. Deep inside the dark crevices of his mind, he was beating the living daylights out of Josh. Screaming at him for all of the things he did to Kate, how he transformed her from a strong, confident and independent woman to someone who could no longer remember why she became a cop and why she loved it her job so much. Rick wanted to kill the man for what he had robbed her of.

"After that," Kate continued softly, "Things were ok again. After a night where he'd been more aggressive than usual, Josh usually backed off and we would both pretend that things were fine between us. I would hide my bruises under my make-up and come to work, same as always. He'd go to the hospital and save people."

"Did he ever... you know..." Rick asked awkwardly. He wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer, but he knew it would gnaw at him until he had an answer one way or the other.

Something cold flashed across Kate's expression momentarily, and then it was gone. "You mean did he ever rape me, Castle? The answer is no," she continued sharply before Rick could say anything. "He never tried anything like that. I would have been long gone if he had ever tried that shit with me." Rick was scared to admit to himself that he wasn't quite as sure as she appeared to be, but hell would freeze over before he voiced that thought aloud.

"How did he hurt your ankle?" Rick asked instead.

Kate laughed somewhat sardonically. "He pushed me into one of the kitchen chairs, and my foot got caught under one of the legs as I fell. He said it was my fault for not catching my balance fast enough. And then when I was on the ground, he stepped on it to make it hurt, so I would give in to what he wanted. I don't even remember what that was anymore, just that it hurt so much when he did that."

Bile rose in Rick's throat and he swallowed hard. "And that happened last night?"

Kate nodded and rubbed her eyes. "That was one of the final straws."

"What was the final one? If you don't mind me asking, I mean," Rick said hastily.

Kate leaned away from Rick and propped herself up against the tub, turning herself so he could look at her face straight on. Rick could see the bruises on her cheeks and near one of her eyes. Her lips were still slightly swollen and one corner had been split. A lot of damage had been done, but Rick realized, with some guilty relief, that it could have been a lot worse. A couple of inches in any direction and Kate could have had damaged vision or broken teeth instead of merely bruises and a split lip. Rick wondered if the doctor had been careless in his rage, or if it had been a deliberate move on his part; then again, he wasn't so sure he wanted to know. The latter had some disturbing implications for the doctor's psyche if it were true.

"He used a closed fist, in case you're wondering," Kate said softly. "That's why the marks are so pronounced. In the past he had slapped me before, but this was the first time he'd dared to hit me with a closed fist."

"Wonder Woman's final breaking point?"

Kate shrugged. "Something like that."

"And then he left?"

"We screamed at each other for awhile and then he just grabbed his jacket and stormed out. I didn't know what else to do, my mind had shut down and was basically running on auto-pilot by that point. I dialled the number before I even realized I was doing it, and by the time I did, something clicked inside me. I knew that I needed to be doing this, that I should have done it a long time ago. So they came and picked me up and took me back to the shelter. And then... and then I asked them to call you."

Carefully, with great tenderness and affection, Rick cradled Kate's face in his hands, careful to avoid her bruises. The last thing he wanted to do was cause her any more pain than she was already in. Her eyes searched his as he stared back at her, memorizing every detail of her face, from her emerald eyes to her warm lips. His thumbs grazed her cheeks featherlight as he watched her watch him, and he thought to himself that she was the most gorgeous woman, both inside and out, that he had ever had the fortune of knowing.

"You are so beautiful, Kate Beckett."

She flushed and pulled away, hiding her face as she looked away from him in embarrassment and... something else. Rick couldn't quite put his finger on it. But she wasn't crying anymore, so that was a start.

They sat there on the tiled floor in an awkward yet strangely comfortable silence, neither one willing to move forward from all which had been revealed. It was a lot to take in, a lot to digest; Rick couldn't even begin to imagine what it had cost Kate to divulge all of the intensely personal turmoil in her life.

Rick glanced at her from the corner of his eye and saw her staring off into nothing. Her fingers were wrapped around each other as they lay still in her lap. _She must be exhausted. _"Are you ready for bed now?" He asked her. "You look so tired."

"I _am_ tired. It must be... Well I have no idea what time it is, but it feels like it's been a very long night."

Rick nodded in agreement. "That it has been. Did you want to go lie down on the bed and we'll take care of your ankle before you go to sleep?"

She nodded and gave Rick a gentle smile. "Alright."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Almost done, there's still some points that have to be tied up in the final chapter. Also, for those who have been reading and thinking that Kate wouldn't get herself into an abusive relationship because she's so strong and independent (etc), I agree with you. The concept for this fic originally came from another fic I read, but as I've been writing it, I've decided that I also wanted to show that domestic abuse is not always so cut and dry. There are several forms and many, many ways to be abusive, not just physically hitting someone. So that's what I tried to show, based on some personal experience in my past and the knowledge on domestic violence that I've gained over the years. Any errors in that knowledge are my own fault.**


	3. Puzzle Pieces

**A/N: Again, trigger warning for some discussion and details of domestic abuse. It's a bit more explicit than the previous chapter - please read at your own discretion.**

**Disclaimer: I do not claim to own Castle or anything from the show.**

**Thoughts are in italics as always.**

"So do you think it's sprained?"

"I'm not sure, but it really hurts."

"Going by the size it's swollen up to, my guess is yes."

"How would you know, Castle?"

"Alexis sprained her ankle a few years ago," the writer explained. "It looked a lot like yours does now. I don't even know if this ice is going to do anything for the swelling since we waited so long."

"It'll be fine Castle," Kate supplied patiently. "Just give it some time. You've already wrapped it, so the ice should do the trick."

"Are you sure you don't want to go to the hospital? I can run you over now-"

"Castle, I'm fine. We've been over this. It can wait until morning, or sunrise at least. That's not far off now," Kate interjected as Rick gently placed the bag of frozen peas to her sore ankle. She could feel the chill through even the tea towel wrapped around the bag, and she bit her lip to stifle a gasp of pain.

"I'll come check on you in a couple of hours," Rick insisted, sitting by her feet on the edge of his bed. He was careful not to bump her ankle, which he had wrapped and elevated on a couple of small throw pillows. "Just ice it for a few more minutes and then you can sleep for awhile."

"Bag off bag off-" She hissed.

"What?"

"Take the bag of peas off!"

"Oh! I'm sorry," Rick apologized, removing the bag as she asked. "Too cold?"

"Yeah, even with the tea towel," Kate sighed. "So much for that idea. Guess we'll just have to stick with the wrap for now."

"Well, I'll leave it next to you on the bed, so if you change your mind later you can still use it, maybe once it's warmed up a bit. Sound ok?"

"Fine with me."

Rick tossed the bag of peas onto the bed next to her, but made no move to get up. Kate tilted her head, curiousity written all over her face. "What is it, Castle?"

"I can't figure out why you called me," Rick said quietly. "You could have called one of the guys, your father, or even Lanie. But you called me instead. Why?"

Oh boy. They were veering into territory that Kate didn't want to discuss; at the same time however, she felt Rick had a right to know. She hated feeling torn like this. Self-preservation usually won out over honesty, but Rick had put himself out for her.

"There would be too many questions from either one of them," she admitted somewhat reluctantly.

"Yeah but we talked in the bathroom," Rick pressed. "I asked you tons of questions, many of which I probably shouldn't have asked."

"Why do you say that?" She inquired.

"I'm... I'm your partner, Kate. And we're friends. But I thought that only extended so far. I just got concerned and upset when I saw how hurt you were and my writer's brain wanted to know the backstory behind what happened, so I just kept asking questions and prying without considering what it took for you to tell me-"

"Castle, no. No. That's not why I told you what I did."

"Then why did you?"

"Why are you asking me these things?" Kate countered.

"I'm just curious about why you chose to call me instead of calling someone closer to you," Rick explained. "I don't understand why you chose me when you had other options available."

Kate exhaled loudly. Apparently there was no way out of this conversation that Rick was insistent on having. Fine. The sooner she got it out of the way the better.

"I... didn't want to call my dad because I didn't want to worry him. I know he's concerned about me because I'm a cop, worried that I'll be put in the line of danger and something serious will happen to me. Nevermind that my mother, his wife was murdered. I know he stresses about that happening to me as well. He worries about me enough; I didn't want to add any weight to that burden."

"Fair enough. Why not Lanie? You two are best friends."

"I love Lanie like a sister. I don't know if she knew what was going on with Josh and me, and I know she would've been supportive if I had told her I needed help, but... I don't know. It's hard to explain," Kate said flatly. "Just something about the way I suspected she'd react. Like she'd be disappointed in me for not knowing better, for not leaving him when I should have. I couldn't bear to have to face her disappointment in me. It's the same reason for why I didn't call Ryan or Esposito either. I don't like letting people down."

Rick snorted. "Oh, we all know you don't."

"I'd smack you if you were closer," she said sourly.

Rick grinned at her, an impish expression lighting up his face for a few moments despite the seriousness of the moment, and Kate couldn't help but smile back. _There's that Castle we all know and lo-like._ _Like. He's a good guy._

"So, why did you pick me then?" Rick continued a minute later.

"You're not going to let me get out of this one, are you?" Kate sighed in mock exasperation. She'd already made up her mind to tell him everything, but she didn't want to hand it to him on a silver platter.

"Nope. So cough it up."

Kate fiddled with the hem of Rick's shirt, unable to meet his eyes. She wasn't sure what she'd see in his expression, in his gaze, and didn't want to be distracted while she peeled off another couple of layers of the Beckett Onion.

"You're my partner, Rick. I trust you, as much as I trust Lanie or the boys. You know why I didn't call Lanie, the boys or my father, so once I'd removed them as options for me, I didn't know who else to call. You sent me that text as I was leaving for home, and... and I guess I decided to take you up on it."

"Kate," Rick said gently, and she slowly brought her eyes up to meet his. "Thank you for calling, for reaching out to me. I would have come no matter what. I would do anything for you."

Her eyes widened, and Rick quickly added, "Because you're my partner and that's what partners do for each other, right?" _Smooth move idiot._

"Yes, you're right, that's what they do for each other." She paused, contemplating her next words carefully. "I would have done the same for you if you had been in trouble and needed me." Kate fought a grin as he flushed a light shade of pink at her words.

"Well, I guess I will let you get to sleep then," Rick said as he moved to leave. "I'll have my phone with me, and yours is beside you on the nightstand there, so text if you need help with anything. I'll come downstairs fast as lightning and help you."

"Wait-" Kate started, reaching a hand out to him.

"What is it?" He asked.

"Could you stay a little longer, Castle?" She mumbled the words, and Rick realized that Kate Beckett actually had a shy streak. Who'd have thought?

"But you won't sleep with me here," he protested. "And you should rest before we talk again in the morning. We still need to figure out how to explain this to Montgomery, since you might have to miss a few days of work, what with your ankle and the bruises."

"I'm not tired though," Kate insisted. "I just really don't feel like being alone right now, and you're good company Castle."

Rick hid a smile at her admission. _She really wants me to stay._ He knew that if they were at the precinct, or anywhere else, Kate Beckett would rather have drank monkey pee in battery acid before admitting that she liked having him around.

"Well, I _suppose_ I can stay for a bit longer," he said playfully, moving around the bed and carefully climbing up onto the empty side next to her. He moved the bag of peas closer to her so it was within arm's reach if she decided she wanted to try using it again.

"I wasn't exactly telling the truth earlier, in the bathroom," Kate blurted out suddenly. Rick looked at her in surprise.

"What do you mean?"

"When you asked me –tried to ask me, rather – if Josh had ever tried to take advantage of me sexually. I said that he had never raped me, but that's not exactly true."

"Oh Kate," Rick whispered as his heart broke for this woman sitting next to him on his bed. While he had thought he'd already heard the worst, here she was telling him that her earlier admissions had basically been the lesser evil by comparison.

"We went out for dinner one night, to celebrate something. I don't remember what it was anymore." Kate's hands fluttered about as she started to speak, so Rick reached over and gently pinned them to her lap with one of his own. "We both had wine to drink, and I had more than usual. Both of us were less inhibited than usual. For me that translated to being louder, chattier, and more of a flirt. For Josh, it usually resulted in a weaker cap on his anger and sexual energies."

Rick said nothing, wanting her to continue at her own pace without interruption from him. Kate twined their fingers together and gave his hand a squeeze as she took a deep breath and continued speaking. Her gaze flickered back and forth between Rick's face and the bookcase on the other side of the room, like she couldn't look at either one of them for more than a few seconds at a time.

"We took a taxi home that night, as we'd both had alcohol and neither one of us wanted to risk driving. As we were coming back into my apartment, I said something that annoyed him. I don't remember what it was. He got angry, I apologized, and he said I could make it up to him by being intimate with him. Put a perfect cap on what had been a nice evening. I said I wasn't in the mood, but it was like he didn't hear me. He grabbed me by the wrist and started pulling me towards the bedroom, with me resisting and saying I didn't want to have sex. He pulled me into the bedroom and threw me onto the bed. I was disorientated because of the alcohol I'd drank at dinner, and by the time I could see straight again, he was on top of me. I tried to push him off, roll him off, anything to get him away from me. But every time I tried to lash out, he pinned me down again. Somehow he managed to unzip his fly and was trying to work himself between my legs." Kate's voice broke as she glanced momentarily at Rick. "He penetrated me with his fingers, trying to get me into it, even though I was crying and telling him that I didn't want it, that I wanted him to stop. It hurt so much." A couple of tears traced their jagged paths down Kate's cheeks as she took one more deep breath, trying to calm herself. "He only backed off when I told him I'd see to it that he lost his job and went to jail for a good long time if he forced himself on me. That was when he punched my face and stormed out of my apartment. It was the finale from earlier, right before I called the transition house."

Rick was stunned. Actually stunned wasn't even the right word for it. There wasn't a word accurate enough to describe the maelstrom of emotions, thoughts and feelings raging around inside of him. Urges to scream, cry, rant and vomit warred inside his head, and he closed his eyes against them all. How was she able to recount such an event so calmly? If he were in her shoes, he would probably be hysterical. _But then again, that's probably why I found her on the bathroom floor earlier, crying so hard she couldn't even sit up. She probably _had _been hysterical, I just missed it because I wasn't in the room._

"Castle? Are you alright?" Kate asked worriedly when he didn't move or say anything.

"Why didn't you say something earlier?" He breathed. "Why did you let me let you go home to that abuser? Why didn't you let me know how bad you'd been hurting, even before tonight?"

"Castle I _told_ you-"

"I know what you told me!" Rick released her hands on her lap and ran one hand wildly through his hair. "I know what you told me, and I know why you did it. But how could you do that to yourself..." He trailed off, unable to finish his thoughts as a wave of nausea hit him. He lurched off the bed towards the bathroom, needing a moment to compose himself. Kate stared after him as he disappeared inside; she had not been expecting quite this reaction from him.

"Castle?" She called him after him.

"Just... give me a minute Kate, okay?" There came the sound of running water, and Kate guessed he was splashing water on his face.

"Alright."

When several long, tense minutes passed and Rick still hadn't reappeared, Kate swung her injured ankle down off the bed in preparation to go meet him in the bathroom. Murphy's Law dictated that that was, of course, the moment when Rick would emerge from the bathroom. As soon as he saw what she was attempting to do, he rushed forward and helped her gently ease her ankle back onto the throw pillows.

"Here, try the ice again." He reached over her for the bag of peas and gingerly let it settle on her ankle. To Kate's immense relief, the chill was more tolerable than it had been the first time around. "How's that feel?" He asked her.

"It's better. Thank you Castle."

"You're welcome." He looked down at her. "I'm sorry for what you just saw."

She shook her head. "It's fine. I just wasn't expecting that sort of reaction from you."

Rick had a pained look on his face. "Kate, how did you expect me to react when you told me what Josh had done to you? I can't even think about it without wanting to empty my insides."

"Maybe I shouldn't have said anything then."

"No! No, I'm glad you told me, I really am." Kate shot him a questioning look, and he clarified himself. "That's not the sort of thing one should keep buried inside. You'll give yourself an ulcer, or worse. So please feel free to tell me anything you want," Rick insisted. "Regardless of how I may react, including what you just saw, I'd rather you told me and let it out versus keeping it shut up inside you. You're my partner, and I want to be there for you if you need a friend, or even just someone to talk to."

"I couldn't ask for a better friend, Writer Boy." Kate smiled at him, and Rick decided he'd let that one slide. Her smile made the gentle poke tolerable.

"Besides," She added. "I'm here now, right? When it got that bad, when I couldn't take being around him anymore, I reached out to you. I didn't stay long enough to let him do what he did again. And you came through for me."

Rick nodded, lost in thought. She was there with him, safe, and that's what was most important.

"Are you ready for bed now?" He asked finally.

Kate yawned suddenly, surprising even herself. "Apparently I am." She paused. "Thanks for letting me stay the night Castle. I really do appreciate what you've done for me."

Rick smiled at her, saying so much with that simple gesture. One day he'd tell her everything, but today was not that day.

"Do you want any extra blankets before I go?" He asked her, moving towards the linen closet next to the bathroom.

"Sure, a couple would be nice."

"Coming right up."

Kate busied herself by making sure she was comfortable on the bed watch Rick as he retrieved the blankets for her. It had nothing to do with the attractive view she would have of his backside if she sneaked a peek while he couldn't see her. Nothing at all. "Hey Castle?"

"Yeah?" Rick answered as he stretched up to reach the spare blankets on the top shelf.

"Do you ever feel like our lives are made up of nothing more than puzzle pieces?"

Rick grabbed the blankets and tugged, accidently bringing some other linens tumbling down on top of him. "What do you mean?" He asked as he tossed Kate's blankets to her on the bed, and then started putting the other ones back in the closet.

"Our lives as puzzle pieces. Our families, our friends, our jobs, our partners," Kate explained, looking at Rick as he closed the closet doors. "We go through life trying to make everything fit, sometimes where it shouldn't, because we're trying to achieve that innate desire to be whole, to have all of our pieces fit together in one big puzzle."

Rick sat down on the edge of the bed, unsure of where she was going with this conversation. "That makes sense, in a way."

"You have your writing, your fans and your work. Those are all different pieces, although they fit together in the same segment of the puzzle. Then you have your family – your mother and your daughter. Those are two more pieces."

"And then there's our partnership, that's another piece," Rick supplied, watching her face for her reaction. Kate just smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, that would be another. It would fit in next to your writing piece, no?"

"Something like that." Rick wasn't about to tell her how closely his work, family and partnership pieces fit together. That would be too much for her to deal with right now. "What about you Kate?"

"I have my work, and my dad. That's two pieces there. Lanie the boys, that's two more." Kate was suddenly struck at how small her puzzle was, how many pieces were still jumbled around in the box, still waiting to be put into place. Castle's piece was on the board, she acknowledged, but it hadn't found its correct space yet. _There's still time though._

"Don't worry, Kate." Rick's voice brought Kate out of her thoughts. "These loose ends, they won't be like this for forever. Once you see the doctor, maybe see a therapist, things are going to get better. You'll start putting your puzzle pieces in their correct places, and you're going to love the way it looks when it's finished. I know it."

Kate's eyes welled up at hearing the tenderness in his words and the look on his face. She bit her lip to try to hold it all in, and Rick stood up abruptly to leave the room. He knew when she'd hit her limit and that she didn't want to break down in front of him again, even if it was for a different reason this time.

In the doorway, Rick turned back one more time to look at her. "Good night, Kate."

Kate pulled the blankets over legs and up to her chest before answering him in kind. "Good night, Castle." He smiled at her, then closed the door behind him as he left.

Alone in the darkness of his bedroom, Kate closed her eyes. 

Out in the living room, Rick was making himself comfortable on the couch. There was no way he was sleeping in the guest bedroom upstairs; should something happen between then and when he woke up, and Kate got hurt, he would never forgive himself. So the couch it was.

He got settled in, pulling the blankets off the back of the couch and over himself. It had been such a long, exhausting night, but he was so relieved that Kate was safe and with him. _She's home._ He would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

Moments later, with those busy thoughts finally fading away, his eyes fell shut and he was gone.

**A/N: I'm so sorry this took so long to finish. Life just caught up with me and I've been busy with jobhunting and other things. A big thank you to everyone who has stuck with me and supported this fic up to this point. I know Kate's a little OOC depending on how you view her (and Rick too?), so I'm sorry for that.**

**Special thank you to bexiboo900 for being amazingly supportive, and lonestarpassion for the awesome graphic she made for my fic. 3**


	4. A New Chapter

**Disclaimer: I do not claim to own Castle or anything from the series.**

**Thoughts are in italics as always.**

The sun had just begun its ascent into the morning sky when Martha Rodgers quietly made her way downstairs. She was due to have an early breakfast with a friend of hers on the other side of town, and she wanted to make sure she left at a reasonable time. She had been planning on grabbing a quick snack from the fridge when she saw something in front of her which made her stop halfway down the stairs.

Initially, Martha just saw her son sleeping on the couch. That was normal. Sometimes he watched TV in the middle of the night when he couldn't sleep, and fell asleep with the TV still on. Martha or Alexis had come downstairs in the morning only to find Richard passed out on the couch with a blanket across his body and the TV turned down low. But then it was the brunette resting against the edge of the sofa that caught her by surprise. Martha knew who it was immediately; they had, after all, met several times before. What was she doing over though? Richard hadn't told her anything about plans to bring company home that night.

From her vantage point on the steps, Martha could see Kate sitting on the floor, her cheek resting on the edge of the couch. She'd wrapped Richard's comforter around her body, and there was a pillow tucked under one of her ankles with a bag of peas on top. _So that was where those went_.

Martha smiled to herself, wondering what had happened to lead up to the scene she had accidently walked in on. She turned around as quietly as possible and walked back up the stairs to continue getting ready. She'd grab a coffee or a bagel on the way over; it wasn't worth waking her son and his companion up.

He was watching her when she opened her eyes. She would have said something if she weren't still so tired.

"Hey," he breathed softly.

She smiled in response. "Hey, Castle. Was that your mother just now?"

He nodded, waiting for her to start stressing about his mother knowing that she spent the night and getting the wrong idea.

"Ah." No such reaction from Kate. _What's going on?_

"Did you want to sleep for a little longer? It's still quite early I think," Rick whispered.

Kate nodded slowly, her eyes still on him.

"How's your ankle?"

"It still hurts, but I had the peas on it earlier."

Rick moved to get up from the couch, but Kate's hand darted out and grabbed his wrist. He looked at her, confused. "Can't we stay like this for a little bit longer? My ankle can wait," she said.

He settled back onto the couch slowly, still not convinced. "Are you sure?"

Kate nodded. "If we wake up in a couple of hours and it's still bothering me, you can take me to the doctor. For now it's tolerable, and I really don't want to move. Your comforter is perfect as a blanket," she finished, burrowing into it a little deeper. Rick wondered if she knew how cute she really was when she did things like that.

One hand snaked out from under the comforter, and clasped itself around one of Rick's hands. He looked down at their meshed fingers in surprise. But when he saw Kate smiling shyly at him, her emerald eyes peeking out at him from under the sheets, he couldn't help but smile back. _Maybe, just maybe..._

"Good night, Kate," he murmured, making no move to pull his hand away.

Her eyes closed again as she sighed deeply. "Good morning, Rick."

終わり

**A/N: And there you have it. To those who were hoping this story would continue on longer, I'm sorry but I've had this ending in mind since back when I was writing the second chapter. This was originally supposed to be just a oneshot, but I felt compelled to keep writing it, and so here we are. **

**To all who have read and/or reviewed this fic, I am so grateful. This fic was my first writing attempt in awhile that I'm somewhat satisfied with, but I know that without your kind comments and support I would not have finished this story. **

**I have my series of oneshots planned as my next project, and I have another idea for Castle fanfiction as well. I hope you'll stick around. **

**~ Nikolita**


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